Ming Dynasty, 16th/17th centuryThe powerful figure standing on a high plinth, wearing a robust armour intricately chased and decorated with a dragon to the breastplate, the hems incised with floral patterns and a long scarf billowing up behind his head and trailing down to his feet above the plinth, his left hand typically holding his characteristic long beard. 32cm (12½in) high

Footnotes

明十六/十七世紀 銅關帝立像

This bronze statue depicts the real historical figure of the military General Guan Yu (died AD 219) who became glorified in the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) historical novel Romance of the Three Kingdoms, attributed to Luo Guanzhong.

Under the late Ming Emperor Wanli (r. 1572-1620) Guan Yu was transformed into a deity and as such his honorific name was changed from 'Guan Gong' or Duke Guan, to the grander 'Guandi' or Lord Guan. This rise in the cult worship of Guan Yu stemmed in part from the looming military threat of the Manchus in the north-east of China; and pirates that raided deep into the coastal regions. Whenever there was a foreign military incursion therefore, China's military heroes were resuscitated.

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